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Museums have long memorialized genius. While art museums preserve great paintings and sculptures, history museums collect and preserve a wide-ranging record of the ways individuals, groups, and companies have shaped our society. The Strong’s focus on the history and meaning of play has guided its efforts to preserve a comprehensive collection of artifacts that document the rich history of toys, dolls, games, puzzles, electronic games, and other playthings. Among these collections are those donated by Ralph Baer, who over the […]

Continue Reading about Installing Ralph Baer’s Desk at The Strong Published on:
June 13, 2016

In November 2015, I came from my home in Turin, Italy, to spend a month at The Strong museum working on my research project, “The Meaning of Toys: Creating and Conveying Knowledge through Playful Artifacts.” I was honored to be granted a  Strong Research Fellowship that financed the first half of my stay.

Continue Reading about From Italy to Rochester, Looking for the Meaning of Play Published on:
June 13, 2016

In my previous blog titled I’d Like to Thank All the Little People, I described the profound impact that Fisher-Price’s Play Family had on my preschool years in the early 1970s. What I could not have realized during those formative years is that, almost 4,000 miles away in Zirndorf, Germany, another type of play set—Playmobil—was being designed and tested for use by four- to 12-year-olds. But by 1977 at the ripe old age of seven, I had transitioned to these […]

Continue Reading about Playmobil Play Sets Published on:
June 1, 2016

Recently, debates about women and video games have been making the rounds. The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and the Colbert Report, for instance, have drawn attention to what it can be like for women in gaming communities. They explain that women face a lot of pushback and find themselves viewed as unwelcome visitors in spaces stereotyped as “for the guys.” Along the way, the nature of video games themselves comes under scrutiny—characterized as hyper-masculine, violent, and sexist. In other […]

Continue Reading about Nancy Drew and the Case of the Girl Gamers Published on:
May 25, 2016

The Strong not only collects playthings, but also acquires significant material related to the invention, manufacture, and use of those playthings. One of the museum’s treasures is the collection of games, game prototypes, and archives from noted American game inventor and historian, Sid Sackson. Sackson (1920–2002) is revered among inventors, collectors, and serious players for his lifelong dedication to games and the gaming world.
Sackson designed several games for the influential series known as 3M bookshelf games. The most recognizable […]

Continue Reading about Sid Sackson: Game Player and Designer Published on:
May 17, 2016

Anyone interested in the evolution of video games can learn a great deal by simply examining the history of the six newest inductees into The Strong’s World Video Game Hall of Fame: The Oregon Trail, Space Invaders, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Sims, and Grand Theft Auto III.

Continue Reading about The 2016 Class for the World Video Game Hall of Fame Published on:
May 6, 2016

I have a confession to make. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I’m hoping readers will understand.
I’m 34 years old, and just recently, I attended my first rock concert. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering my profession, this concert consisted of a hard rock opera based on the 1980s video game series Mega Man.

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April 29, 2016

It’s game night and my friends are gathered in my dining room. Four of them are face-down in a plateful of whipped cream, with their hands tied behind their backs, desperately trying to find snack-size candy bars hidden underneath. The rest of the group are laughing raucously, cheering their partners on. The goal of the first group to find and eat all five hidden snack-size candy bars is well on its way, and it looks like it’s coming down between […]

Continue Reading about Game Night! Published on:
April 29, 2016

“Hey! I had one of those growing up!” is a frequent statement we hear from guests roaming through The Strong. With such a large and diverse collection on display, everyone young and old can discover personal treasures behind the glass cases. The nostalgia of smiling childhood memories brings joy, as toy companies have discovered.
Although children are the key demographic for most toys, adults often make the purchasing decisions. So toys must also appeal to the grownups. And toy companies […]

Continue Reading about When the Old Becomes New—Timeless Toy Designs Published on:
April 22, 2016